Gardens of the Moon: The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1

The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting, and bloody confrontations with ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen’s rule remains absolute, enforced by her dreaded Claw assassins. For Sergeant Whiskeyjack and his squad of Bridgeburners, and for Tattersail, their lone surviving mage, the aftermath of the siege of Pale should have been a time to mourn the many dead. But Darujhistan, last of the Free Cities, yet holds out.

Would you consider the audio edition of Gardens of the Moon to be better than the print version?

No I doubt it. It's a VERY complex book and I am someone who listens to my ABs while jogging, lifting, doing housework, driving etc. There are so many characters in here and so many factions it's easy to get confused. I love GOTM but I wish I had a non-spoiler crib sheet that would have told me who was who and who was aligned with who.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gardens of the Moon?

Fall of Pale.Interactions between Wiskeyjack and his team.Rake fighting the hounds.

What about Ralph Lister’s performance did you like?

It was great.

Any additional comments?

This is a fantastic epic fantasy book, but it is so complex that sometimes the audio format makes you lose track of what is going on.

Probably the biggest problem for me was that I couldn't even keep track of which way the factions were aligned.

The Providence of Fire

Having learned the identity of her father's assassin, Adare flees the Dawn Palace in search of allies to challenge the coup against her family. Few trust her, but when she is believed to be touched by Intarra, patron goddess of the empire, the people rally to help her retake the capital city. As armies prepare to clash, the threat of invasion from barbarian hordes compels the rival forces to unite against their common enemy.

Would you be willing to try another book from Brian Staveley? Why or why not?

Yeah I'll probably read the 3rd one. I loved the Emperor's Blades but I feel like this book is a step back not forward.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

He does a great job, doesn't go overboard with voices.

Could you see The Providence of Fire being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Possibly a movie, mostly because the Ketral would be so fun to film.

Any additional comments?

-glad we got to see more Ketral in action-overall story was pretty confused. didn't like how no one ever knows what's going on, seems like the whole thing is a "kent-kissing goat f***" as the author would say-not really sure what's going to pull this all together in Book 3-like I said it just seems like a step backwards-the birds are half the fun, and they are basically absent from the story-totally confused about the role of the Ksestrim. not in a good way. -also kind of weird how crazy things happen all the time and everyone knows about leeches, but no one ever seems to put the two together, "well yeah that's probably just a leech." instead everyone is just always stunned that something weird or unexplained is going on. kind of a major story flaw.

Fourth of July Creek: A Novel

After trying to help Benjamin Pearl, an undernourished, nearly feral 11-year-old boy living in the Montana wilderness, social worker Pete Snow comes face-to-face with the boy's profoundly disturbed father, Jeremiah. With courage and caution, Pete slowly earns a measure of trust from this paranoid survivalist itching for a final conflict that will signal the coming End Times. But as Pete's own family spins out of control, Pearl's activities spark the full-blown interest of the FBI, putting Pete at the center of a massive manhunt from which no one will emerge unscathed.

Where does Fourth of July Creek rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 20%

What did you like best about this story?

Pete was the most interesting character. But by the far the most gripping/haunting parts were the Pete/Rose chapters.

What does MacLeod Andrews and Jenna Lamia bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Andrews is probably the best narrator I've heard. The first time he has an outburst as Benjamin Pearl I jumped in shock in my car.Lamia totally steals the show. You want to jump through the speakers and hug her and tell her it will all be ok.

If you could take any character from Fourth of July Creek out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Ha ha. Pete and the old man who takes in foster kids are probably the only ones who wouldn't tell you to go to hell or hold a gun to your face. But I'm not even sure about that. I'm going to say Rose because she would probably need the meal.

Any additional comments?

Incredible book. I think if you look at the reviews that are lower than 5 stars you'll see that most of them just found the book too depressing. That's not really the same as saying it wasn't a good book.

Revival: A Novel

In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs - including Jamie’s mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession.

I think if it's billed as horror it should actually be scary rather than just vaguely creepy.

Would you be willing to try another book from Stephen King? Why or why not?

Yes of course, overall he's very enjoyable.

Have you listened to any of David Morse’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No but the narration is great, some people dog in in reviews but the guy does a great job.

Was Revival worth the listening time?

Barely. There is literally NOTHING scary in this book until the last maybe 45 minutes. Compare to Salem's Lot which is terrifying basically all the way through. Even the horror that is there is more existential than anything else.

Any additional comments?

The best part of this book had nothing to do with horror and was just a good yarn about a kid growing up in the 60s and being a musician. Maybe King should just be writing novels without trying to be scary? Seriously the horror stuff seems to be tacked on by an editor after the fact.

The Martian

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive—and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark isn't ready to give up yet. Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills—and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit—he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next. Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?"

The Emperor's Blades: Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne, Book 1

In The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley, the emperor of Annur is dead, slain by enemies unknown. His daughter and two sons, scattered across the world, do what they must to stay alive and unmask the assassins. But each of them also has a life-path on which their father set them, destinies entangled with both ancient enemies and inscrutable gods.

Where does The Emperor's Blades rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Top 5% It's incredible.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Emperor's Blades?

When you find out what Hull's Trial is going to be.When you figure out what the evil leech's well is.

What about Simon Vance’s performance did you like?

Didn't overdo the voices, a few subtle accents but didn't go crazy.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Some parts of this book are just laugh out loud funny. It's one of the only epic fantasy books that incorporates profanity really well. Instead of something fancy like "By the goddess!" or "to the seven hells!" the characters in TEB just say f***.

Any additional comments?

As others have noted there are a few loose ends. Motivations are not always clear and when they are not they are only sporadically set up for a later answer.

Probably the biggest confusion is why the 2 princes are willing to be abused and nearly tortured for 8-10 years, this is particularly true for Kaiden who doesn't even understand why he's with the monks.

It's also true for Yurl (sp?), why does he go through the entire training? Couldn't he be 90% as cruel and nasty without risking his life for 10 years?

Lots of people compare this to Abercrombie, Rothfuss, Riyira, Kingkiller, etc, this is WAAAY better. If some of those left you a little unsatisfied this will not. I've been trying to find my next fantasy series since Mistborn and this is as good as that. Truly a "driveway" title.

Rise of Empire: Riyria Revelations, Volume 2

Best-selling author Michael J. Sullivan’s mesmerizing Riyria Revelations series has found a welcome home with fans of magic, clashing swords, and daring heroes. This second volume finds Royce and Hadrian on a quest to enlist the southern Nationalists to aid the ever-weakening kingdom of Melengar. Royce suspects an ancient wizard is manipulating them all, but to find the truth he’ll have to decipher Hadrian’s past—a past Hadrian wants to keep secret.

Where does Rise of Empire rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

middle

What other book might you compare Rise of Empire to and why?

tough to say

What about Tim Gerard Reynolds’s performance did you like?

he does a great job with everything, doesn't over do the voices

Any additional comments?

I think after listening to 3 of the books I would say that this is A-. It's definitely good, in fact it's really good. Creative, well written, compelling characters. For whatever reason it doesn't have that driveway quality to it where you want to sit in your car and let it play. I enjoy listening to Ryira but find I stray away from it for podcasts or another book. I'll probably finish the series but very slowly as I'll be constantly interrupted by other things.

Terms of Enlistment

The year is 2108, and the North American Commonwealth is bursting at the seams. For welfare rats like Andrew Grayson, there are only two ways out of the crime-ridden and filthy welfare tenements, where you’re restricted to 2,000 calories of badly flavored soy every day. You can hope to win the lottery and draw a ticket on a colony ship settling off-world, or you can join the service. With the colony lottery a pipe dream, Andrew chooses to enlist in the armed forces for a shot at real food, a retirement bonus, and maybe a ticket off Earth.

American Assassin

Before he was considered a CIA superagent, before he was thought of as a terrorists worst nightmare, and before he was both loathed and admired by the politicians on Capitol Hill, Mitch Rapp was a gifted college athlete without a care in the world . . . and then tragedy struck.

Where does Command Authority rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

middle

Who was your favorite character and why?

Didn't really have one.

What three words best describe Lou Diamond Phillips’s performance?

Stop doing accents.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

Any additional comments?

Given what a stickler Clancy was about details down to the material on gun stocks and things like that I think it's pretty funny that Junior and Dom can basically become Tier 1 special forces operators with like 3 years experience at the Campus. Driscoll is believable but I must have missed the part in the series where the other 2 become interchangeable with Delta.

Locked On

Although his father had been reluctant to become a field operative, Jack Ryan Jr. wants nothing more. Privately training with a seasoned Special Forces drill instructor, he’s honing his skills to transition his work within The Campus from intelligence analysis to hunting down and eliminating terrorists wherever he can—even as Jack Ryan Sr. campaigns for re-election as President of the United States. But what neither father nor son knows is that the political and the personal have just become equally dangerous.

If it were an actual old school Clancy book. I understand he's a pretty conservative guy but this reads like a Sean Hannity fever dream. When I got to the part about the obese, single female lawyer who was "married to her convictions" and who actually gets a quasi-sexual frisson from defending terrorists who have attacked the country I almost had to quit. It's all just caricature. Clancy has created the Clark/Ryan universe and in that universe Fox News doesn't exist and the Democrats are literally 2 degrees of separation from the KGB. He constantly talks about the media while ignoring the fact that the most powerful media outlets around today are outspokenly conservative. The book is basically set in a world that Tea Partiers think exists: the media is all-powerful and arrayed against them, Democratic politicians will happily do anything (even let the US get attacked) to stay in power, liberal oligarchs are actively working to bring down the country, and torture works every time!

Can't we just get back to Rainbow 6? When it was all about running, gunning, and espionage? I never cared how Ding Chavez voted....

What do you think your next listen will be?

No idea.

What does Lou Diamond Phillips bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He reads them well.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment at how far into the silly right wing politics of the day a really talented author has sunk.

Any additional comments?

I just really wish the Clark/Ryan universe could go on as a fun, readable, thriller series.

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